Wizz Air targets 10% SAF usage by 2030

Low-cost European carrier Wizz Air announced that it is targeting to use at least 10% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on all its flights by 2030 to help reduce carbon emissions per passenger/km by 25%.

The milestone was announced during a press conference alongside Firefly Green Fuels which also announced the world’s first sewage-to-SAF facility in Essex, UK.

Wizz Air has supported Firefly since 2023 and has a 15-year offtake agreement with the SAF producer for supply up to 525,000 tonnes of SAF to its UK operations from 2028.

“Alongside fleet renewal and operational efficiency, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plays a crucial role in reducing carbon emissions from aviation. Our investment in Firefly, which has the potential to reduce our lifecycle emissions by 100,000 tonnes CO2-eq per year, underscores our commitment to mainstream the use of SAF in our operations by 2030,” said Yvonne Moynihan, Corporate and ESG Officer, Wizz Air.

“However, achieving our aspiration requires a significant ramp-up of SAF production and deployment. Therefore, we call on policymakers to address barriers to SAF deployment at scale by incentivising production, providing price support, and embracing additional sustainable feedstocks for biofuel production.”

In 2023, Wizz Air achieved its record low annual average CO2 intensity result at 51.5 grams per passenger/km, a 6.8% reduction from 2022.